We Will Sit In for Impeachment

On July 23rd phone John Conyers at 202-225-5126 or send him a fax with one click.

Cindy Sheehan to Lead March for Impeachment, Arlington to Capitol Hill, July 23rd

Congressional Campaign Announcement Possible

WHAT: March from Arlington National Cemetery to the Capitol Hill Office of Congressman John Conyers to ask him to begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney or President George W. Bush or both. Participants hope to meet with Congressman Conyers and receive his assurance that impeachment proceedings will begin at once in the House Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. Many of those participating have committed to only leave if Conyers agrees to begin impeachment or they are arrested.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been the driving force against impeachment in Congress. If there is no agreement to begin impeachment proceedings by Monday, Sheehan will announce her candidacy challenging Pelosi for election in California's 8th Congressional District.

WHO: Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan, KIA in Iraq 2004, founder of Gold Star Families for Peace and of the Camp Casey Peace Institute; Ray McGovern, 27-year veteran of the CIA and cofounder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity; Rev. Lennox Yearwood, President of the Hip Hop Caucus; Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army Colonel and diplomat who resigned in protest the day the U.S. invaded Iraq; Debra Sweet, national coordinator of the World Can't Wait; Dave Lindorff, author of "The Case for Impeachment," David Swanson, cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org; Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, both cofounders of Code Pink; Kevin Zeese, director of Democracy Rising; Tina Richards, military mother and creator of GrassRootsAmerica4Us; and many many others.

10:30 a.m. beginning march to Capitol Hill, to 2426 Rayburn House Office Building, office of Chairman John Conyers.

12:00 p.m. noon – approximate arrival time.

"We have the deepest respect for Chairman John Conyers," Sheehan said, "and I'm glad he's the one who will lead the impeachment hearings. But time is wasting and people are dying every day that he holds off. The majority of Americans want Dick Cheney impeached. We are bringing that message to the chairman of the judiciary committee of our house of representatives. It is our house, the house of American citizens, and any representatives currently serving there who disagree should be challenged in the next election."

This action is strictly nonviolent. We hope to speak with Congressman Conyers and reach an agreement to begin the impeachment process. We hope that no one will be arrested.

Those not wishing to risk arrest can expect to be able to leave following a warning.

Those willing to risk arrest if needed must be disciplined and nonviolent. Bring an ID (with a street address, not a PO Box) and money (cash, check). Give everything else to a support person. Be prepared for the possibility of being held for as long as 24 hours.

If you have a car, you can park it at the Union Station or National Airport parking garage and leave it there as long as you need to.

If money is needed to release people more quickly than 24 hours, the Camp Casey Peace Institute will attempt to cover it for everyone. Those wishing to contribute funds to this effort can do so here: http://www.thecampcaseypeaceinstitute.org

_________

Why Would Anyone Protest John Conyers?
By David Swanson

John Conyers has a great quote in John Nichols' book "The Genius of Impeachment" (pointed out by attentive reader Gordon Bennett):

"I have a choice. I can either stand by and lead my constituents to believe I do not care that the president apparently no longer believes he is bound by any law or code of decency. Or I can act."

On the 5th Anniversary of the Downing Street Meeting and the same day as a Dem Prez candidates debate in the evening on CNN, Youtube, and Google, July 23, 2007, Cindy Sheehan plans to lead a delegation to Congressman John Conyers' office in DC to demand impeachment. Ray McGovern will be among those marching to Conyers' office from Arlington National Cemetery (meeting there just outside the Metro stop at 10 a.m.). Cindy and Ray were two of the four witnesses in Conyers' basement hearing on the Downing Street Minutes in June 2005.

This time, we've not been invited. We plan to sit and read the Constitution aloud. If necessary, we will face arrest.

This is part of a march that Cindy and others are making from Texas to New York. The march may make stops at the district offices of other House Judiciary Committee Members, such as Rick Boucher, Mel Watt, and Bobby Scott.

You can organize a meeting, protest, honk-a-thon, or sit-in at your Congress Member's office. One way to get organized is with this system. You can find events and create them here. And you can meet people in Facebook.

We need a nonviolent revolution to compel our Congress Members to revive our Constitution. Sitting in their offices and reading the Constitution out loud, if enough of us do it, may save our democracy.

Citizens are planning sit-ins the same day in several Congress Members' district offices, including Congressman Conyers' offices in Michigan.

Why Conyers?

Because he controls impeachment. We wouldn't want anyone else. He has the knowledge and skill to lead the way, and we hope his better half wins out. And we hope he doesn't arrest us for asking him to fulfill his oath of office.

Clearly at least half of Congressman Conyers wants to move on impeachment and wants public pressure to allow / compel him to do so. He wrote the best report on Bush and Cheney's crimes a year and a half ago. He has encouraged the movement for impeachment. But half of him, for whatever reason, is intent on blocking it.

A Tale of Two Conyers
By Congressman John Conyers

WHY did all manly gifts in Webster fail?
He wrote on Nature's grandest brow, For Sale.
--Emerson

PART I

In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war with Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and other legal violations in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration.

There is a prima facie case that these actions by the President, Vice-President and other members of the Bush Administration violated a number of federal laws, including (1) Committing a Fraud against the United States; (2) Making False Statements to Congress; (3) The War Powers Resolution; (4) Misuse of Government Funds; (5) federal laws and international treaties prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; (6) federal laws concerning retaliating against witnesses and other individuals; and (7) federal laws and regulations concerning leaking and other misuse of intelligence.

While these charges clearly rise to the level of impeachable misconduct, because the Bush Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have blocked the ability of Members to obtain information directly from the Administration concerning these matters, more investigatory authority is needed before recommendations can be made regarding specific Articles of Impeachment. As a result, we recommend that Congress establish a select committee with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war detailed in this Report and report to the Committee on the Judiciary on possible impeachable offenses.

-- Congressman John Conyers, "The Constitution in Crisis", December 2005

PART II

As many of you also know, I have agreed with Speaker-to-be Pelosi that impeachment is off the table. Instead, we agree that oversight, accountability and checks and balances – which have been sorely lacking for the last six years – must occur. I have nothing but respect for those who might disagree, but that is where I come out.

Having devoted a considerable amount of time and attention to detailing the many abuses of the Bush Administration, I firmly believe that we have brought these matters to the attention of the American people and the mainstream media, and that their verdict was reflected in the elections on November 7. I consider the now famous "basement hearings" and the issuance of my "Constitution in Crisis" Report to be among the watershed achievements of my more than forty years in Congress.

-- Congressman John Conyers, November 2006

We need the first John Conyers. There is no Republican majority blocking inquiries. There hasn't been for over half a year. Instead, Conyers is issuing subpoenas, and the White House is refusing to comply with them. The third article of impeachment passed by the Judiciary Committee against Richard Nixon was for refusal to comply with subpoenas. Conyers served on that committee. He knows that publishing a report on Nixon would not have done the job.

Conyers knows that when he and his colleagues held Nixon accountable, the Democrats won the biggest victories in a generation at the next elections. Conyers knows that when they let Reagan go in order to focus on elections they proceeded to lose and create the Bush dynasty. Conyers knows where Congress' approval rating has gone these past six months. He knows what another year and a half of building the already overwhelming case for impeachment but not acting on it would do to the Democrats. He knows that pursuing impeachment and having it blocked in the Senate by Republicans would guarantee Democratic landslides. And he knows that it is morally disgusting to put partisan elections concerns ahead of saving our Constitution and reinstating the rule of law for the executive branch.

Why divide the Democrats? 80% of Democrats want Cheney impeached. What kind of divide is that? It would be 90% the day after Conyers began impeachment. Conyers knows there is no downside to impeachment. We need to provide the public pressure to allow him to act.

Comment viewing options

Chairman Conyers addressed this issue on Friday evening. It appears that you don't have time to read!

I think he will be insulted and that's not what we need to do. He made a statement on Friday evening that he needs only (3) more members to sign on! He asked us to contact our representatives to get them to join him. When he has the additional members on board, he will go ahead becaues he won't need the Speaker's input.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the man with the most integrity of any politician in this world. I trust him to understand and to follow through on his constitutional responsibilities. Apparently you don't.

I suggest that you visit someone like Russ Feingold who apparently doesn't understand his role in all of this. I am not happy with this sit-in and want to let you know. Wrong person and wrong time. You should have done this a week ago or 10 days ago and it would have been pertinent. Not now. It's not needed.

Bush Executive Order from the Whitehouse July 17 makes opposing the war an illegal act. It provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of "certian persons" who oppose the US led war in Iraq. Moveover, those persons or nongovernmental organizatons who provide humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians and who are not approved by the US Military are liable to have their financial assets confiscated. This executive order violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the US constitution. Further, it repleals the fundmental tenets of US democracy, the right to free expression and dissent. This order has not been the object of discussion in the US Congress make sure that it is brought out into the open before the elections. See http:www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html

She was "escorted" out of the US forever by J. Edgar Hoover. I don't think he wore his dress at the time.

And, I'm not sure I want to be identified as a "Democrat" since my reply to Nancy Pelosi's email a few years back when she assumed "leadership? of the anti-war movement" and invited me to "join her" is basically unprintable in any family newspaper, as it well should be.

I re-registered as a Dem in order to vote for and support Barack Obama. My north shore debutante ex went to high school with Hill. Do I need any other reasons other than support of this ungodly and yes ungodlessly war? Sorry, Senator Clinton you supported this bloodbath and you get no quarter from me nor does Speaker? Pelosi.

Cindy Sheehan for Congress.

Gary Peterson
Belmont, CA

PS: Send Congress to Iraq. The war? would be over in 10 minutes and we would still lose.

Or, now that half the puppet Iraqui government? currently on vacation at Malaki's house in London has resigned from itself just form a coupla soccer teams and let them play off for the country. The winner can run? whatever George hasn't killed and our soldiers can come home NOW!

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